"Too good" to write?
Jon Tveite (jontv@ksu.edu)
Mon, 01 Dec 1997 08:42:04 -0600
"New person," and then Tim:
> > I mean, sense he's everyone in his books, that
> > DOES mean he's seymour, the poet-saint, which means he's better than the
> > rest of us, too, because writers write
> > for everyone, right? if anyone knows what i mean, PLEASE
> > RESPOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> I don't know if he thinks he's "too good to even be a WRITER anymore,"
> though it's certainly plausible that he became disgusted by the publicity
> antics of his time, and withdrew in disgust for that and other reasons.
Presumably, JD is still writing, so he's still a writer (more than *I*
can say of myself, lately). What he wasn't, for a long time, was a
*publishing* author. The publishing process had become, for him, too
painful to undergo. Although now, with HAPWORTH coming out, maybe he's
changed his mind about that. Or maybe HAPWORTH is some kind of test
balloon to gauge what would happen if he put out a new, more substantial
chunk of writing. Stay tuned and find out.
If I knew that Salinger had been driven to stop writing altogether, I
might have felt a mix of pity for and disappointment in him. He's a
damn fine writer, and it's always too bad when people give up something
they're good at. On the other hand, I can't fault him for deciding not
to publish what he's writing, as much as I'd like to get my grubby
little paws on it. It's not my decision: it's his. And I trust him to
make it for himself -- regardless of the consequences to me, the
dedicated fan. I just that he will eventually share whatever he's been
doing with the rest of us.
By the way, has anyone heard whether HAPWORTH is likely to come out in
paperback or not? I can wait, if so, but I don't want to miss getting
the hardcover, if that's the whole show.
Jon (Tveite) <jontv@ksu.edu>
_______________________________________________
"You know how it feels to know you're not real"
The Apples in Stereo